Gadget Turns Everything Into Ambient Music

Noah Vawter, a.k.a. Shifty, created Ambient Addition, an ambient music generator that interacts with your environment.

A tiny Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip analyzes a built-in microphone’s sound and superimposes a layer of harmony and rhythm on top of the listener’s world. In the new context, some surprising behaviors take place. Listeners tend to play with objects around them, sing to themselves, and wander toward tempting sound sources

“With Ambient Addition, I’m hoping to make people think twice about the sounds they initiate as well as loosen up some inhibitions,” explains Vawter.